Rising Smoke: Book Two: Fallen Darkness
by VolcanicPizza
Summary: Smokefrost has found a home beyond the Clans he left many moons ago, but all is not well. A dark enemy gnaws at the borders of his group. As a spy within the camp transmits secrets to the enemies outside the camp, Smokefrost's kits will also play a part in the ensuing chaos... (Discontinued, to see why check the chapter labeled "Notification.")
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**A/N: What's up, everyone? I'm back again with the second book in the Rising Smoke trilogy, Fallen Darkness. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this, so I let it go for a while to build up the hype.**

 **Also, in case you haven't noticed, all of my other fics will be on hiatus (not discontinued) until this is finished. I really want to concentrate on this fic because I don't want any continuity errors.**

* * *

 **ALLEGIANCES**

 **SMOKEFROST'S GROUP**

Leader: Smokefrost- gray tom

Deputy: Triffid- tortoiseshell she-cat

Medicine cat: Talon- slim black tom

Warriors:

Mick-dark brown tabby tom

Apprentice, Specklepaw- dappled brown she-cat

Charlie- dark brown tabby tom

Apprentice, Foxpaw- ginger tom

Fiery- ginger tom

Kiara- spotted golden she-cat

Wolfheart- dark ginger she-cat with black stripe down spine

Gray- dark gray tabby tom

Russet- ginger tabby she-cat

Pool- light gray she-cat

Burn- gray-and-ginger she-cat

Queens:

Cloud that Drifts at Dusk- pale gray she-cat, mother to Smokefrost's kits, Lionkit (golden brown tabby she-cat) and Ivykit (dark gray tom)

 **OURANOS'S GROUP**

Leader: Ouranos- pale gray tom

Guards:

Wheeler-pale tabby tom

Nightmare- black tom

Leo- golden brown she-cat

Blackthorn- dark gray tom

Scorch-dark gray tom

Fighters:

Elijah- dark brown tom

Van- light gray she-cat

Ebony- black she-cat

Blair- dark ginger she-cat

Flash- white tom

Queens:

Jen- light brown tabby she-cat, expecting Ouranos's kits

 **CATS OUTSIDE THE GROUPS:**

Sans- black-and-white tom

Papyrus- ginger-and-white tom

Ragnarok- white tom

Chalice- dark gray she-cat

Fern- light brown she-cat

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the prologue just because I don't feel like posting it as a separate document.**

* * *

Lightning lashed through the trees of the somber forest. The black tom glared at the mud gathering around his paws in disgust. Yet this was necessary for him to be able to come back.

 _They seek to test me, perhaps. No matter. I shall prevail._ The thought of what would happen if he managed to get through this filled him with determination.

"Master?" asked the dark brown tabby besides him. "I-i-if I die in this world-"

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood for your whining, Charlie." He turned from his servant in disgust. "I expect you to be of assistance, not a whining piece of pigeon droppings."

Charlie cringed again. "But, Master Scourge-"

"I told you to keep your mouth shut?" Scourge turned on the tom. "I can slit your stomach open right now if I so desire." His eyes burned madly. "There's nobody here to punish me, because I'm already dead."

"But not for much longer, right, Master?" Charlie asked timidly.

Instead of turning on Charlie and killing him, Scourge's eyes suddenly sparkled with a new light. "We're here!" He bounded forwards, Charlie right behind him, forgetting his earlier rage.

At the end of the forest, it suddenly melded into two forests on either side. One sparkled with bright light, the other was even more pallid and gloomy than the one he stood in. At the point where all three forests intersected, a grayish mist hovered.

"The intersection of the Dark Forest, the 'StarClan' of rogues and loners," Scourge's lip curled as he used the term contemptuously, "and the Somber Forest. The place where, if one so desires, I can reenter the living world."

"But there's the risks, you remember that." protested Charlie.

"I am well aware of the risks!" Scourge rounded on Charlie. "If I didn't know you weren't just fulfilling your duties, I'd kill you on the spot!"

"Yes, Master."

"I will enter the Divide." Scourge snarled, glaring at Charlie. "Awaken!" he commanded, and Charlie slowly melted away into nothing.

Eyes burning crazily, Scourge stepped forwards into the mist to find a body to inhabit. For a moment he felt claws tearing at his insides, and then everything began to fade as he was set loose from the Somber Forest.

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the prologue. I'll be back out with the next chapter tomorrow if everything goes well.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, I would've updated this sooner, but... homework just gets in my way at Every. Freaking. Turn.**

 **Shadowman: Ha, yes you do.**

 **Herp: That's what I was trying to make everyone suspect so that how Scourge tries to come back would be even more startling.**

 **SylviaHunterOfArtemis: I assume that's an expression of dismay at how Scourge is coming back, mainly because you won't know who he's possessing until close to the end.**

 **SleepyGhosty: Yes, Undertale is one of my new favorite games. I only discovered it a few months back and already my subconscious is forcing me to slip Undertale references into everything.**

 **Damn son: You think?**

 **PINGAS: At first I was going to have it be the other way around, but then I decided, "You know what? Let's switch it around and go against what most people would do in this situation."**

Smokefrost gazed over the camp. Everything seemed to be falling into place at last.

As he watched, Talon slipped out of his den and walked into the middle of the camp. He calmly picked up a mouse and took it to a corner of the camp, where he began to eat with quick bites. _He has found his place within the group at last._

Triffid, Mick, and Specklepaw ducked in through the entrance, carrying fresh-kill. Specklepaw was carrying a rabbit nearly as big as she was, and her eyes glowed with pride. She was the only surviving kit in Triffid's litter, the rest having been killed during Alpha's tyrannical campaign. Triffid had been devastated, but she had got over her grief in the six moons since.

 _But he's dead now, and we can live in peace._

Just below his den, Pool and Burn were chatting amiably. The two she-cats were former rogues that had formerly lived in a barn, but it had burnt down since then. Smokefrost had decided that they could take the two she-cats in, and they were already contributing members to the group.

Gray and Russet walked towards Pool and Burn and quickly became involved in their discussion. At first, even after they had invited everyone to move into their ravine, Gray had still been more than a little hostile, but he seemed already to have forgotten the days when he and Russet had lived here alone.

Suddenly, a happy squeal split the air. Smokefrost looked down to see his kits, Lionkit and Ivykit, scuffling about in the dirt. His mate Cloud stood besides them, watching over them with all of a mother's love. The two kits were almost six moons old and were nearing the age that they would become apprentices.

"I'm gonna get you, Lionkit!" Ivykit jumped on top of his littermate and swiped at her ear.

"I'm gonna crush you into the ground and eat you! Roar!" Lionkit attacked her littermate, gently cuffing him over the head.

Charlie sat in the corner of the camp, watching them. In recent times, the dark brown tabby tom had grown quiet and subdued, but he still always had time for the two kits, particularly Ivykit. Even though the dark gray kit wasn't his kit, he still doted on the young tom. Smokefrost normally would have considered it strange, but if Charlie chose to pay attention to the two kits, it wasn't his place to stop him.

The group was living in seeming harmony. But Smokefrost knew that his group was based on a delicate setup that could all too easily fall apart.

* * *

Ouranos glared at the black tom. "And you only saw fit to tell me now?"

Nightmare, the tom he was talking to, looked as if he would be having nightmares tonight. "I'm sorry, Ouranos!" he squealed. "But I didn't know there were rogues invading our borders! We thought they were just passing by!"  
"The same two cats 'passing by' day after day?" scoffed Ouranos. "I want you to capture them and bring them to me so I can make them suffer! They will spread the message that although Alpha is dead, us in the Drowned Twolegplace still hold authority!"

"Yes! Of course!" Nightmare raced out of the room at top speed.

* * *

The first sign Nightmare had that things weren't going to go their way was the fact that the floodwaters were rising.

"I don't like water." whimpered Ebony, his sister, flicking water off her paw.

"Relax." Scorch, a dark gray tom, glared into the shadows. "We're going to bring these two in and bring them back. No big deal."

"Is that...?" Nightmare pointed into the shadows where two shapes were moving.

Scorch squinted. "I think so."

"Surrender now!" yowled Ebony. "We have you surrounded!"

Nightmare winced. She could have gone about it a bit more subtly, but it would serve to get the message across.

The smaller one, a black-and-white tom, glanced around. "Goodness me," he meowed in a voice of faint terror, "we're in a bit of a pickle here, would you agree?"

The larger one, ginger-and-white, shook his head. "Naw," he growled aggressively, "we can take these clowns."

"You don't want to die, do you?" Scorch hissed, making his voice echo.

"If you kill us, you're going to have a bad time." The black-and-white tom's blue eyes glowed. "Wouldn't you agree, Papyrus?"

"Wouldn't it be us having a bad time because we'd be dead?" The ginger-and-white tom appeared very confused.

The smaller tom sighed. "Look, Papyrus," he meowed patiently, "I've only heard two voices. Two cats can't necessarily have us surrounded, can they?"

"Sans, stop twisting things with your flawed logic!" Papyrus groaned.

"Look, just run." the small tom sighed.

"I don't think so." Nightmare stepped in front of them. "You two are coming back with us."

"Oh, really?" Sans narrowed his eyes, and before Nightmare even knew what was happening, he had three long slashes along his chest and the two toms were gone.

"You said this would be easy!" spat Nightmare at Scorch. "Now they'll tell everyone that we can be that easily defeated."

"They won't get away that easily!" Scorch hissed, fur bristling. "We will track them down and bring them back if it kills us!"

 **A/N: That last scene wasn't just because I wanted to lengthen the chapter or bring in Sans and Papyrus, it will actually have much repercussions later on.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm going to be taking a brief hiatus for the next week or so, so I decided I'd let this chapter out before then.**

 **SylviaHunterOfArtemis: I'll give you a hint... actually, I can't think of any hints that aren't glaringly obvious to make it who it is asides from the obvious one: it's a tom.**

 **SleepyGhosty: Sans and Papyrus are going to come into this chapter too.**

 **Herp: Glad you think so.**

 **And, as with Smokepaw's Quest, my goal is to get Fallen Darkness to 100 reviews before it's over. It said 56 views when I went to post this, so there should already be 56 reviews if everybody had reviewed!**

 **So, anyway, enjoy the chapter, and please make sure to review!**

Ivykit grinned with anticipation. _This is the day!_

Today was the day he would finally become a full apprentice. Not a dumb little kit who kept getting under everyone's feet, but a real apprentice!

And then a warrior, and then-

His thought train was cut short as his sister Lionkit shoved him onto the ground. "Stop daydreaming, Ivykit!" she squealed. "The ceremony's starting!"

"Do you know who our mentors will be?" he asked his sister.

"Dunno." The golden brown she-cat was staring at their father's den. "I hope I get somebody serious, though, not somebody who jokes around all the time."

"I wouldn't mind a bit of joking around." Ivykit snapped to attention as his father stood atop the Stoneledge.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Stoneledge for a meeting!" he yowled.

Cats gathered relatively quickly, with Pool and Burn being the last to trickle in. Despite the fact that they were contributing members of the group, they still didn't exactly get the function of the Clan meetings. As for StarClan... well, even start talking about StarClan and they'd lose interest and sort of wander off. When you told them of the stories of how the group was founded, or told them one of the old stories Smokefrost had brought with him from the forest, like the ones about Scourge, they were all ears and wouldn't leave until you'd finished the story. It made no sense.

 _I will be more serious than that, but not too serious._ Ivykit thought as his father drew breath to speak. _I don't want to be made fun of by younger cats for being stiff and formal all the time, but I don't want to be too funny, either. Too much of one or the other and cats will make fun of me. I don't want that._

His thoughts were again interrupted with Smokefrost speaking. "Today, Ivykit and Lionkit will become apprentices."

Ivykit could hardly sit still with his excitement. This was it! They were finally becoming apprentices! He shot a glance at Lionkit and noticed her frowning disapprovingly at him.

"Lionkit, from this moment on you will be known as Lionpaw. You have expressed a desire to learn the ways of the medicine cat, and so will be apprenticed to Talon. I trust he will pass all he knows on to you."

 _What?_ Lionkit had never said anything to him about wanting to be a medicine cat...

"Ivykit, from this moment on you will be known as Ivypaw. Fiery will be your mentor, and I trust he will pass on all he knows to you."

 _Fiery... that's a relief._ Ivypaw thought as he stepped up to touch noses with the tom. _He's not too serious, and I can have a bit of fun now and then._

Smokefrost adjourned the meeting and the cats broke up.

Ivypaw turned to his new mentor. "Can we go hunting?"

"No." Fiery replied. "We're going to be busy practicing fighting."

"But I don't like fighting!" Ivypaw pouted.

"A warrior must be well-rounded." Fiery was unsympathetic. "Fighting starts first."

"But why can't we go hunting?"

Charlie overheard the conversation. "Oh, let it go, Fiery." he called. A slight fear kindled in his eyes, but it was gone quickly. "I'm taking Foxpaw out hunting, and you two can come with!"

Fiery growled and glared at his apprentice as if he'd orchestrated Charlie passing by and offering to go hunting. "Tomorrow we're practicing fighting and no exceptions!" he snapped.

Sighing, Ivypaw followed his mentor. He hadn't expected life to be all mice and moonshine, but Fiery was definitely being more short-tempered than he'd ever seen him before. _Did Fiery not want me as an apprentice?_

* * *

Panting, the she-cat raced through the woods, sweat and blood streaking her dark gray pelt. Her paw caught on a root and something snapped, but she didn't stop to question it or even acknowledge the pain. She just had to run.

Once she was sure she was alone, she stopped at the foot of a tree, around which grew multiple yellow flowers. In light of the recent panic she had faced, they looked like they were evil and out to kill her. Insanely she thought, _What if one of them grows a face and says, "Hello, my name's Flowey, Flowey the Flower! Oh, by the way, I'm here to kill you!" And then it kills me... That's about the most fish-brained thing I've ever thought._

One thing was certain: she could trust nobody.

"Hello there. What's your name?"

The question came from behind her, and the dark gray she-cat whipped around to see two cats standing behind her.

"Ch-Chalice." she replied haltingly. "Who're you?"

"Name's Sans." One of them, a black-and-white tom, grinned. "This one's my brother, Papyrus."

"Hello there!" Papyrus meowed. "You look like you've had a run-in with something nasty!"

Sans shot his brother a glance and turned to Chalice. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but it's clear you're exhausted."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Chalice snapped, attempting to stand up but failing as her back leg caved beneath her, and splintered bone poked out. Ignoring the pain and fighting back a shriek of pain, she hissed, "I'm fine on my own!"

This was evidently not true, as she definitely had a broken leg. A shriek escaped her, but she bit it back.

Sans raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. "Very well then. We'll leave you here." He took a few steps, then turned and finished, "Although quite frankly, I don't see what _bone_ you have to pick with us."

"SANS!" bellowed Papyrus.

Chalice couldn't help but laugh at Sans's attempt at humor. "Fine, you can help with my leg. But after that, I'm leaving!"

"Papyrus, can you go fetch some marigold?" Sans asked. "That should help."

"Of course!" Papyrus grinned. "I, the great Papyrus, will definitely be able to find some!"

He was barely gone for a second before he came back and whispered in Sans's ear, "What does marigold look like again?"

 **A/N: So Lionpaw and Ivypaw are now apprentices, and Sans and Papyrus goof off in a serious situation. What's new?**

 **Also, I have a question for you guys: We all know right now that Charlie is serving Scourge, but do you suspect anybody of being Scourge reincarnated/another one of his followers?**

 **Like I said, I should be back in a week or so. See you guys then!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, guys, I'm back! How was your Easter, if you celebrate Easter, or your free time if you don't? For those of you who don't have Easter break at school, have a cookie. (::)**

 **Also, my condolences to anyone who lives in Brussels/ has family or friends in Brussels. (My parents were actually seriously considering taking the family there over Easter break...)**

 **And just so you guys know, the Warriors Fanfiction Advice Guide is coming off of hiatus. I know I said I would put everything on hiatus, but I changed my mind.**

 **Herp: You may or may not be right. That _would_ make for a great plot twist, but... I probably won't use it. XD**

 **SleepyGhosty: Not everyone is going to have an Undertale analog, I just threw in Sans and Papyrus because Undertale is awesome. Ivypaw would actually be closer to taking Frisk's 'role,' but this isn't going to follow the Undertale storyline. It's actually going to be closer to Greek morality plays. You may be right about your suspicions about Scourge's followers, but I'm not at liberty to say. ;)**

 **Guest: If you go back and look at the allegiances, you'll see that Wolfpaw got made a warrior as Wolfheart. I was planning on using her in this chapter, but I don't know if I'll get around to it.**

 **Shadowman: I didn't expect anybody to come up with that theory about Chalice... I said already that the Scourge reincarnated cat was a tom, but still, that would be an interesting plot twist. It won't happen, though.**

Ivypaw stretched and squinted at the morning sun. Although Fiery had let him go on the hunting patrol, he hadn't waited until the next day to give him fighting practice, and in all the chaos he hadn't got a full look round the territory. He knew it stretched in the south to the Drowned Twolegplace, in the west to the Spirerocks, and in the north until the river, but he wanted a full look around the territory.

"Ivypaw. Good, you're awake."

Ivypaw turned with dread to see Fiery coming towards him. _I hope we don't have to do more horrible things like yesterday,_ he thought, and so was surprised when Fiery spoke.

"I worked you a little hard yesterday." he admitted. "I'm giving you today off to do whatever you want. Within reason," he added hastily as Ivypaw's eyes began glowing.

"Oh, sure." Ivypaw smiled. Lying around doing nothing sounded rather pleasant.

"Have fun," Fiery grinned, not pleasantly, and walked away.

Ivypaw nodded, then turned as Lionpaw approached him. "Oh, good, you're free today." she meowed. "I need your help. Talon told me I have to get some herbs. We're short on tansy and alder bark, and he wants some more goldenrod as well."

Fury burned in Ivypaw's eyes, and before he really understood what he was doing, he snapped, "I'm not going to waste my free time on _herbs_!", adding scornful emphasis to the last word. "I'm going to do what I like!" He turned from his sister and ran.

 _What just happened?_ Ivypaw wondered as he burst through the camp entrance. Wolfheart, who was guarding it, looked oddly at him but said nothing. _I don't know what I just did or why, but... something went wrong. I've never spoken to Lionpaw like that, not even when I'm angry!_

He realized with horror that he wasn't sure if he could trust himself anymore.

* * *

"Ouch!" Chalice reached around and started to lick her leg, but Sans swatted her tongue. "It's best if you leave it alone for now." he informed her.

"I know, but I can't help it. It itches!" she complained.

"Broken bones itch all the time!" Papyrus contributed. "I remember when we were up north on the sun-drown-place with that crazy old badger- you remember, Sans, you told her a bunch of flea-brained jokes- and I fell out of a tree sixty fox-lengths high!"

"How'd you survive that?" Chalice asked with no small horror.

"I only fell out two fox-lengths up." admitted Papyrus with a laugh. "Still, it hurt and itched like all the bites of a thousand gnats, especially in my-"

"Okay, Chalice doesn't need to know that part." Sans remarked, placing his tail over his brother's mouth.

"So do you two know exactly where we're heading?" Chalice asked. "All you told me after we found out we were running away from the same group of cats was that there was a safe zone somewhere, and even then you were extremely vague."

"Hey, vagueness is my expertise." Papyrus admitted with a laugh. "Sans is the one who knows where it is."

"I've heard rumors that a group of rogues have set up a group based on principles of equality, order, and a 'warrior code.'" Sans gazed at the setting sun and the now barely-visible waters of the drowned Twolegplace. "It's somewhere north of the drowned Twolegplace, but we're not sure where. The rogues we spoke to were either trying to kill us a second later or were scared of us. They couldn't help it, poor saps." Sans turned and grinned. "They'd probably never seen anybody as handsome as me."

"Oh, dream on, brother!" Papyrus shoved Sans amiably.

"We've been searching ever since we heard of it." Sans concluded.

"Where are you guys from anyway?" asked Chalice.

"I could ask the same of you." Sans looked at the sun again. "Anyway, we're from far, far away. The place we lived was the very definition of disorder. It was so chaotic that cats from the outside just referred to it as 'the Havoc.' There were only two reasons to stay alive in the Havoc: family and revenge. Papyrus and I were lucky to have each other so we didn't fall into the other means of staying alive. In fact, I'm fairly certain we're the only cats there who didn't live for revenge."

"I've never heard of the Havoc..." Chalice began.

"Be grateful for that." Sans sat down and stared in the dirt. "And be even more grateful you didn't have to grow up there."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I took a break from Fallen Darkness for a while because I was changing the entire storyline in my head, so... Yeah. Don't flame if there are a few continuity errors.**

 **Herp: Like I told SleepyGhosty earlier, not everyone has an Undertale analogue. So no, Midnight is not Toriel.**

 **Shadowman: The Havoc may or may not have a role in this story.**

 **SleepyGhosty: Hints... uh... first, everyone except Smokefrost, Cloud, and their kits can be suspected of being a Scourge follower. (That didn't help much, did it? :P) The Havoc is _not_ Underfell, however, there may be some cats described who are a little like some Underfell characters. And very well, I won't tell you Ivypaw's possessed. (troll face) Seriously, though, like all toms, he can be suspected. (That includes Sans and Papyrus...)**

A single oak leaf fell from the sky. It landed on Ivypaw's head, and with a snort the tom shook it off.

 _I've been sitting here for an hour,_ he thought. _This isn't exactly profitable use of my free time... I should be hunting._

He found a squirrel relatively quickly, as it made its way over the rocky ground. He pounced, landing paws first.

His paws drove through the animal's body and onto the ground just as his teeth bit through its spine. It shrieked, still alive, and writhed faintly before dying.

Ivypaw stared in horror at the bisected squirrel, then at his bloody paws. He felt blood drip faintly from his mouth and did his best to wipe it on the ground, but he could still feel it drying in his fur. _I can't take this back. They'll think I've gone mad!_ Paws shaking, he forced himself to bury the squirrel. Even after it was concealed by earth, he continued scraping earth over it until a paw-high mound rose from the silt.

Although most of the blood had been wiped off in burying the squirrel, the rest of it was still clotting in his fur. Sighing, Ivypaw stood and walked to the pond to wash it off.

As the first of the blood detached itself from its body and drifted aimlessly on the surface, Ivypaw looked across the pond and saw Lionpaw lying on the other side of the pond, staring aimlessly into the gently churning water. His stomach lurched. _Was she really that hurt by what I said to her?_

"Lionpaw! Hey!" Ivypaw called as he made his way across the side of the bank to her. When she made no move to get away from him, he continued, "Lionpaw, I'm sorry I was rude to you. I-" His breath caught in his throat as he realized she wasn't moving. "Lionpaw?" He nudged her gently, and she turned on her side, revealing deep gashes across her throat, still bleeding.

Ivypaw gasped and scrambled backwards. "No! This isn't happening!" His voice rose to a shrill wail. "This can't be happening!"

"Hey!" yowled a voice, and Ivypaw jerked around to see a patrol consisting of Mick, Kiara, and Gray.

"What did you do?" Gray yowled, running towards Ivypaw. Kiara lurched backwards at the sight of Lionpaw's body, and Mick turned to comfort her.

"You killed her!" spat Gray. "Your own sister!"

"No!" Ivypaw stepped backwards, away from the gray tom. Blood drifted from his paws and mingled with the rest of the floating blood. "I didn't do this! I didn't do this!"

"I wish I believed you." Gray stepped forwards again. "Why, though, Ivypaw? Why did you kill your sister?"

"I didn't!" Ivypaw pleaded. "I swear I didn't!"

"Get him." Gray snapped at Mick and Kiara. "We'll see what your father thinks of this."

"No!" Ivypaw turned and ran. He was distantly aware of yowling and the heavier footfalls of the older cats, but could hear and see nothing but rage. Simple rage. _Why did someone kill Lionpaw? Why did they think it was me? Why did I kill the squirrel like that?_ And on and on, until it was a simple jumble of _whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy_ in his head.

Something bit his leg. He shrieked in pain and pulled. Something tore, and warm liquid trickled down his leg. He tried to run forwards, but couldn't. Confusedly he glanced down at his paw and saw it was pouring blood. He took one step, then another. A roaring sound rose from in front of him, and the yowling of the cats he had thought were his friends behind him.

He took another step and felt himself fall.

* * *

Gray looked down as the limp gray form fell from the edge of the cliff into the roaring waters, blood pouring from his leg. "He couldn't have survived that." he muttered. Turning to the others, he meowed, "Our official report is that Ivypaw killed his sister, then jumped from the cliff. Because really, that's what he did."

Kiara nodded. Mick continued to stare with glazed eyes at the rapids, where a small gray body floated, the water around it red.

* * *

"What happened?" shrieked the golden brown she-cat. "I can't die yet!"

"You weren't supposed to die yet, Lionpaw, if that was any comfort to you." meowed the cat next to her in a comforting tone.

"No, it isn't!" Lionpaw lashed her tail and stalked angrily around the silty forest floor. "They think Ivypaw killed me, and he didn't!"

"You don't know that for sure." the cat corrected gently. "After all, you never saw the cat who jumped on you."

"He might have been Ivypaw's size, but..." Lionpaw continued to stalk in circles. "Ivypaw would never kill me! Attack me sometimes, yes, yowl at me, yes, but he'd never kill me!"

"The cat who killed you," snapped the cat, glaring into her eyes, "was none other than Scourge."

 **A/N: So, yeah, a lot went down in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed, or at least didn't flip the table when Lionpaw died, but, anyway... (glances around awkwardly, unsure how to proceed) Yeah, I... (looks out window and notices people mobbing the house because of Lionpaw's death) Crap, gotta go! (hides in closet)**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey, guys, I'm back! Sorry if anyone thinks this took too long or whatever...**

 **SylviaHunterOfArtemis: I have a feeling you will be even more distressed this chapter... Kidding, maybe.**

 **DNACat: Well... glad you're happy.**

 **Shadowman: That's exactly what my little brother said, word for word.**

 **Herp: It is.**

 **EEYESBROwS: I think you may have misunderstood a bit. Lionpaw _did_ die, the last part of the last chapter was set in StarClan. I can't yell at you for not understanding that; I just didn't make it obvious enough, I suppose. As for hints: the cat possessed by Scourge will be in this chapter.**

Darkness surrounded Ivypaw. He wondered vaguely why. A rushing sensation filled his ears, and then a pressure he hadn't even noticed before lifted.

"Are you dead?" asked a voice.

"I don't think he's dead, Ragnarok." This voice was more dry. "Hey, wake up. Don't be dead, or I'll have just wasted part of my day."

A paw prodded Ivypaw's side, and he rolled over and vomited water onto the rocky ground. Knees weak and paws sweaty, he got gingerly to his feet. "Wh-what..."

Two cats stood in front of him, one a light brown she-cat, the other a tall, sturdy white tom.

"Oh. Hi." the she-cat meowed. "I'm Fern, and the fat furball here is Ragnarok."

"I don't find that humorous." growled the white tom.

"What, that your name is Ragnarok?" asked Fern with a teasing tone in her voice.

"No, you calling me a fat furball."

Ivypaw tried to pull himself away, but his stomach heaved and he turned and retched again. Bile dripped from his mouth.

"That's a bit disgusting." Ragnarok noted.

"Hush!" Fern cuffed Ragnarok over the ear. "He's allowed to throw up; he almost drowned."

Everything came back to Ivypaw suddenly: Lionpaw, and being chased into the chasm...

"Ahhh! No!" Ivypaw fell to the ground and vomited again. "Lionpaw..."

"I believe he is in distress." Ragnarok noted. "Should we do something about that?"

"Leave him." Fern spoke sharply. "Let him grieve for whatever he is grieving for in peace."

Ivypaw heard shuffling gravel. _Probably those two backing off._ Looking into the river for the first time and barely seeing his reflection through tears, he realized he was bleeding from his left ear. More accurately, what was left of it. Where his ear had been was now a stump, a ragged remnant of what it was once.

He couldn't see why it had happened to him. Today had been too much for any newly-made apprentice to handle. _Why would it happen to me?_

So he did what came naturally to him: He slept.

* * *

He awoke to sudden yowling. Blearily he opened one eye and saw Ragnarok and Fern standing, backs arched and hissing. Ivypaw got up and swung his head to see three cats standing there with somewhat puzzled expressions on their faces. It would have been almost comical if not for the tragedy Ivypaw had suffered earlier that day.

"I don't see why you're so hostile." a black-and-white tom noted. "There's really no reason for it."

"There's plenty of reason," Ragnarok hissed.

"We're ready for a fight if you want one," the other tom, ginger-and-white, snorted.

Ivypaw's thoughts raced, but all he could think was, _I need to stop this before it gets out of paw._

 _But can I?_

 _Can I?_

 _CAN I?_

 **A/N: Cookies for anyone who spots the reference to the first book here! (::)**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just took a short break from this, because it felt to me like I wasn't accurately capturing the magic of the first book, but... I'm back now, so yay.**

 **Herp: You seriously expect me to have Sans make some bad joke every chapter? Well then. Just for you there will be NO JOKES for the next five chapters. (troll face)**

 **Rainford: Yes, he can, and yes, I do.**

Gray stood impatiently outside Smokefrost's den, awaiting his invitation to come in. Thinking about what he was pretty sure Ivypaw had done to his sister before falling from the cliff filled him with determination, and he stood taller as Smokefrost called, "Come in!"

Gray entered to see Smokefrost hunched in the corner. "Smokefrost?" he asked, and felt a jolt as Smokefrost turned around. The confident tom who had made his two kits apprentices only days ago was gone, replaced by a hunched, gaunt figure with an expression of lost hope in his dim eyes.

"As you know, Lionpaw is dead, and we suspect Ivypaw of killing her." Gray quickly listed the chain of events: finding Ivypaw with Lionpaw's dead body, chasing him, and the gray tom's plunge from the ravine.

Smokefrost looked away, and it took him some time to respond. "Gray, you can understand how this would be hard for me to process." he rasped. "At dawn I saw both my kits leave the camp, full of life, and now you say one is dead, killed by the other who then killed himself."

"I understand, but I'm merely telling the facts as I see them." Gray replied.

"You are dismissed." Smokefrost growled, turning to the depths of his nest to brood.

He wasn't aware when he fell asleep, but all he knew was that when he opened his eyes he found himself in a bright field.

"This is more like it," Smokefrost muttered. A beautiful dream field to frolic his guilt away in when both his kits were dead. Oh, what fun.

"Hello, Smokefrost."

Smokefrost whipped around to see a tortoiseshell she-cat approaching him from the edge of the field. "Who are you?" he growled, sliding his claws out.

The she-cat didn't respond to his question, instead meowing, "Your kits are both considered dead. Your distress is understandable, but your group... your Clan... needs a strong leader."

"Then I'll step down and let Triffid become leader," Smokefrost lashed his tail. "I'm tired of the dumb job anyway."

The she-cat flinched. "You cannot say that, Smokefrost!" she hissed. "Your group's well-being relies on _you_. _You_ are the one who brought them together. _You_ are the one who gave them order and the warrior code. You are the strong leader they need... and I can help you."

Smokefrost squinted as he eyed the she-cat. "Oh, really? How?"

"I can teach you to become a better warrior. Moves that you never learned in ShadowClan nor in your time with the rogues. Just come back here next time you fall asleep. You are not relaxed enough now."

"How?"

"You will automatically come back if your desire and determination are strong enough." The she-cat began to walk away.

"Wait!" Smokefrost called. "You never told me your name!"

"Mapleshade." responded the tortoiseshell over her shoulder. "The name's Mapleshade."

* * *

Ivypaw took a deep breath. Suddenly his confidence grew. The realization that he had to end this now, or it could possibly break into a much larger fight... it filled him with determination.

"Stop this." he meowed, stepping between the cats. "You don't even know each other, nor what the other's motives are. I'm sure if we all sit down and talk this through we can come to a compromise."

"Okay!" meowed the white-and-ginger tom enthusiastically. "Sounds good!"

"I suppose." Ragnarok sighed theatrically. Ivypaw noted that he still kept his claws out.

"Well... since I'm afraid I left my set of dog teeth to fit over my claws back in the Havoc," the black-and-white tom grinned, "I've got no choice, do I?"

"We're probably all fighting a common enemy, anyway." Ivypaw forced himself to stay calm.

"So," asked the she-cat, "what are your names?"

"I'm Ragnarok, and this is Fern." Ragnarok gestured to Ivypaw. "And this is..."

"Ivypaw." Ivypaw nodded, feeling more as if he was reassuring himself. "My name is Ivypaw."

"I'm Sans," meowed the black-and-white tom, "and these are Papyrus and Chalice. We're running from Ouranos's forces in the drowned Twolegplace. What about you?"

"We were... eh... wandering along and found Ivypaw washed up in the river. We haven't been able to get much intelligible speech from him yet." Ragnarok replied.

"Somebody killed my sister," Ivypaw snapped, "and I was framed for it and then chased off a cliff."

"Ooh, that's rough." Sans winced. "You've got it much better than in the Havoc."

"Yeah!" Papyrus meowed. "Remember how the one time I went to make dirt, and-"

"They don't need to know that." Sans replied.

"But it's funny!" Papyrus looked injured. "Jokes about dirt are always funny!"

"Not when you make them." Chalice muttered.

Ivypaw sighed inwardly. Now, if only he could get these cats to stop talking about their habits in making dirt and start talking about working together for a common goal, then everything would be moving along well.


	8. Notification

**A/N: So.**

 **It's been a while, hasn't it?**

 **Recently, I decided to go back and re-read the original story, as well as this one, and it actually wasn't as great as I thought it was at the time.**

 **Therefore.**

 **I'm going to rewrite the entire series as one book, starting from the beginning.**

 **For those of you who wish to check it out, it will be called: "Smokepaw's Quest: Redux," with the first chapter coming in under five minutes. It won't be exactly the same, as I will change quite a lot by adding in new scenes and removing old ones. I doubt a single sentence will stay the same, so don't expect it to be exactly the same but with grammar errors fixed.**

 **I know this doesn't really count as a chapter, but since I'm starting all over again, it doesn't really matter.**


End file.
